1 Peter 3:14-16

But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it.

So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats.

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life.

And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.

But do this in a gentle and respectful way.

Keep your conscience clear.

Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed

When they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

In today's Scripture, Peter describes a situation that often comes up in Christians circles. How do we share our faith and not be obnoxious or boastful? The short answer to this question is easy. We simply let Christ do the talking! Practically, it is more difficult than that. Many Christians spend great deals of time complaining about being a Christian. We complain that we are too busy. We get very confused about why we stay busy and do as much as we do. We are, and should be, busy because God is. We often feel like the whole world is out to get us and it can affect our personality when we greet others. Peter tells us to be unafraid of any threats against us because we belong to Jesus. He says that God will reward us. We must focus on worshipping Christ and make Him the center of our lives. In all that we do, we must be ready to explain our faith, gently and concisely. In sales training, I used to force people to get on an elevator on the top floor and ride to the lobby with me. During that ride, I asked them to tell me what they did for a living, and they had to be finished by the time the elevator stopped! It doesn't take long to tell people that Jesus died for us so we should live for Him! Going on and on to people that don't know who God is, simply pushes them farther away from the foot of the cross and makes us look too righteous. Finally, we should never retaliate against people who attack us for being Christians. Jesus never did. He loved His enemies and He prayed for them. We must do the same. Sooner or later, God will deal with the disobedience of others. We don't have that job and we should praise God that we don't!!! When we do all this, our conscience is clear. Others will see what we believe and want to be a part of the "Family of God!" In short let us all say, "My Life is in You Lord!"